how I wonder what you're at!

Where good ideas come from

Creative people (whether they be authors, painters, poets, carvers, composers, etc. etc.) are always asked where their ideas come from.

I think everyone has the capacity to be creative, if they want to be. If they are open to new ideas, and looking at old ideas from a new point of view, there are endless possibilities for the creative. And there are so many creative outlets possible for exploration.

This is the full, original text from Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign:

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

And like Apple and the above video mention, fields that don’t fall under the ‘creative’ category still require imagination, and curiosity, and passion. Creative comes from create; I think ‘creativity’ intimidates people who don’t actively strive for it because it is placed on such a high pedestal. When you look at it as a verb, create, it becomes less daunting and abstract.

People who are willing to be a little crazy are the ones who are willing to explore, to suggest a solution that sounds silly, who eager to look past what is the norm or what has already been done. And they are the ones who create change.